The scream of a Formula 1 engine, the growl of a luxury saloon: both evoke visceral reactions. Can electric cars do the same?
ON 13 SEPTEMBER, the inaugural Formula E race will be shown live on TV. Hopefully the broadcast will go better than the first time all-electric car racing was televised. US network ESPN gave the Formula Lightning series its TV debut during an August 1994 edition of the show Thursday Night Thunder. The cars were built by students as part of a research project, so any coverage was a bonus. National TV coverage was a dream come true.
Unfortunately, ESPN missed the start. When cameras cut to the track at Indianapolis, the cars were already racing. The joke doing the rounds later was that the cameraman had fallen asleep and the electric cars were so quiet they didn't wake him.
Twenty years ...
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